Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
